Can body making machine



Feb. 17, 1942. J. H. MURCH 2,273,060

v CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE v v Filed Aug. 24, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS Feb. 17, 1942. J H, MURCH 2,273,06Q

CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 24, 1940 2 Sheets-Shed 2 A-THTOEN EYS Patented Feb. 17, 1942 CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE John H. Murch, East Orange, N. J.', assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 24, 1940, Serial no. 354,114.

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to ean body making machines and has particular reference to shifting the body forming horn relative to other parts of the machine so that can bodies or can body blanks may be readily extricated from the machine when a jam of such bodies or blanks occur. This is an improvement. on the can body maker disclosed in United States Patent.

2,169,311, issued August 15, 1939, to M. E. Widell. In the manufacture of canbodies made of sheet metal or fibre material, the body blanks are usually fed along a predetermined path of" are wrapped or folded around the horn to produce the finished can body. During this passage along the horn a blank or a partially made bodyv occasionally is'crushed and thus jams the :feeding device. Such crushed can bodies are sometimes' difiicult to extricate from the machine.

The instant invention contemplates overcoming this difiiculty by providing a movable forming horn which may be raised but of the way so that suflicient clearance obtains between the hornand the feeding devices to readily extricate a crushed or jammed blank or body.

An objecttherefore of the invention is the. provisionof a can bqdy making machine wherein chine wherein the forming horn may be raised bodily while maintaining it parallel with the feeding devices in the machine.

Another object is the provision in a machine .of this character of devices for locking the forming horn in a desired position so that it may be maintained stationary after being shifted to extricate a crushed body or blank.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the I invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood from the following description, which, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to thedrawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a can body making machine embodying the instant invention, with parts broken awayandparts shown in section; 4

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially along the line 2-2 in Fig. lywith' parts broken away; and

-Fig. 3 isa sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 in Fig. 2.

As a preferred embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate a can body maktravel adjacenta stationary forming horn and ing machine of the. character disclosed in the above mentioned Widell patent.

In such a machine fiat can body blanks of fibre material are supported in a horizontal position on top of a bed I I (Figs.'1 and 2) which constitutes the main frame of the machine and are advanced therealong in a step by step movement through a series of working stations by' feeding devices. These devices include a pair of spaced and parallel feed bars I2 carryingv feed dogs I3 which engage behind the blanks during their advancement. These. feed bars operate in grooves I4 formed in the top of the bed II.

Asthe blanks are advanced along the bed II they are wrapped or folded around a lorn or I mandrel it which is disposed just above the top of the bed in spaced relation thereto and which extends longitudinally thereof. The drawings show a square horn so that .the folded blanks will result in can bodies'A of square cross sec- I tion. Longitudinal grooves II formed in the bottom of the horn provide clearance spaces in which the feed dogs I3 operate.

The horn I6 is suspended from above in order to maintain it in spaced relation to the bed I I and also to permit wrapping of the blank around the horn. For this purpose there are two lugs or brackets 2| (Figs. 2 and 3) bolted to the top of the horn in spaced relation and adjacent the inner end of the horn so that its outer end may be free and unobstructed.

The lugs 2I extend upwardly alongside of vertical face plates 22 (Fig. 2) which are formed on overhanging arms 23 of a pair of spaced brackets or horn supports 24 (see Fig. 1) bolted to the bed II. The upper ends of the lugs are fastened to the face plates by eccentric bolts or pins 1 21. Thesepins include a-body 3| having on one end thereof an eccentric portion 32 which terminates in an enlarged head 33 and having on the oppo-- site end a shouldered portion- 34 of reduced diameter which terminates in a threaded section 35. I

24. The eccentric portion 32 of the bolt is disposed in a hole 38 formed in each lug 2I while the enlarged head seats within a clearance recess 39 formed in the lugs. The shouldered portion 34 of the bolts carry lever arms 42 (see also the enlarged head 33 of each bolt or pin 21 tight against the horn lugs 2|. Such tightening of the bolts clamps the lugs against the face plates 22 and thus locks the horn and the lever arms 42 against displacement.

When a jam of body blanks or partially made can bodies occurs in the machine and it is desired to raise the horn so that the crushed can parts may be extricated, it is merely necessary to unclamp the horn lugs by turning the locknuts 46 in a reverse direction and then to shift the lever handle 44 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 1, Unclamping the locknuts frees the lever arms 42. Shifting of the lever handle 44 rotates the body portions 3| of the pins 21 in their bores 31 and this revolves the eccentric portions 32 of the pins in their holes 38 of the horn lugs. Such movement lifts both of the lugs and the horn connected therewith while maintaining the horn in parallelism with the machine bed ll so that a greater space obtains between the bottom of the horn and the top of the bed. It is this greater space that permits ready removal of the crushed can parts.

After removing the jam the horn may be quickly returned to its operating position by a reverse shifting of the lever handle 44 to its original position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pins are then drawn up tight by manipulation of the locknuts 46 and this again clamps the lugs 2| against the face plates 22 so that the horn and the lever handle will be locked against movement during the operation of the machine.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its mate'rlal ad-. vantages, the form herelnbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a can body making machine, the com bination of feeding devices for advancing fibre combination of feeding devices for advancing can.

body blanks may be readily extricated when a jam occurs in the machine.

4. In a fibre can body making machine, the combination of feeding devices for advancing can body blanks along a predetermined path of travel, a forming horn disposed adjacentthe path of travel of the blanks and around which the blanks are wrapped to produce can bodies, a stationary bracket member disposed adjacent said horn for supporting the same spaced from the path of travel of said feeding devices, 9. lug

member on said horn and engaging against said can body blanks along a predetermined path of travel, a forming horn disposed adjacent the path of travel of the blanks and around which the blanks are wrapped to produce can bodies, devices for supporting said horn spaced from the path of travel of said feeding devices, and means carried by said supporting devices and engageable with said horn for shifting the same relative to said feeding devices so that crushed fibre body blanks may be readily extricated when a jam occurs in the machine between said horn and said feeding devices.

2. In a fibre can body making machine, the combination of feeding devices for advancing can body blanks along a predetermined path of travel, a forming horn disposed adjacent the path of travel of the blanks and around which the locking said horn against movement in its shifted position.

3. In a fibre can body making machine, the

bracket member, a connecting pin extending through said members and having an eccentric portion disposed in one of said members, and means for rotating said pin to move the horn further away from the feeding devices so that crushed body blanks may be readily extricated when a jam occurs in the machine.

5. In a can body making member, the combination of feeding devices for advancing fibre can body blanks along a predetermined path of travel, a forming horn disposed adjacent the path of travel of the blanks andaround which the blanks are wrapped to produce can bodies, a stationary bracket member disposed adjacent said horn for supporting theme in spaced relation above the path of travel of said feeding devices, a lug member on said horn and engaging against said bracket member, connecting pins extending through said members each having an eccentric portion disposed in one of said members, means for rotating said pins to elevate the horn still further away from the feeding devices so that crushed body blanks may be readily 6. In a fibre can body making machine, the

combination of feeding devices for advancing can body blanks along a predetermined path of travel,

a forming horn disposed adjacent the path of travel of the blanks and around which the blanks are wrapped to produce can bodies, a plurality of stationary brackets disposed adjacent said horn for supporting the same in spaced relation relative to the path of travel of said feeding devices, a plurality of lugs formed on said horn and.engaging against said brackets, rotatable pins carried in said brackets and lugs for holding them together, each of said pins having an eccentric portion disposed in a said horn lug, a lever secured to each pin, and a link connecting the levers in parallelism so that the shifting of one lever will shift all levers and rotate all pins in unison to move the horn relative to the feeding devices and in further spaced relation thereto so that crushed body blanks may be readily extricated when a jam occurs in the machine.

JOHN H. MURCH. 

